Fox News ousts co-president Bill Shine

Fox News Channel

Manuel Armenta
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04 May, 2017, 17:13

After news broke Monday afternoon that long-time Fox News executive Bill Shine had resigned amid the lingering sexual harassment scandals of both Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly, Hannity may be the next to go.

Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch announced Shine's resignation in a brief email sent to Fox staffers on Monday. He was promoted to lead Fox News alongside Mr Abernethy in the wake of Mr Ailes's departure, at the behest of Mr Murdoch, who built the sprawling Fox entertainment empire and is the news channel's executive chairman.

Shine was a longtime deputy of former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, ousted last summer after more than two dozen women came forward to accuse Ailes of sexual harassment.

Bill Shine is out as co-president of Fox News, and the consequences for the network are dire.

Other suits have mentioned Shine as allowing a workplace environment that fostered sexual harassment and racial discrimination. "His contribution to our channel and our country will resonate for many years", Mr. Murdoch said in a statement. In addition to Shine's exit, Murdoch communicated that Suzanne Scott will now step up as head of programming.

Shine was named in some of the complaints for failing to take aggressive action in response to complaints about Fox News personnel.

Somewhat further into the weeds, an anonymous "TV executive" told Mediaitehe is trying to lure Hannity into signing up for "an alternative conservative cable network on the belief that the Fox News Network is moving too far to the left".

Fox will still have plenty of old hands to rely on, even as it brings a new manager on board.

"This is a significant day for all at Fox News".

Scott, who has been with Fox News since it launched in 1996, served as senior vice president of programming and development since 2009.

When rumors first started swirling last week that Shine could be on his way out, Hannity took to Twitter to say Shine's departure would mark the "end of [Fox] as we know it". Only last week, Murdoch, Shine and Fox co-president Jack Abernethy were photographed emerging from lunch at a Manhattan restaurant, a tableau widely read as a vote of confidence by Murdoch in the two men.

The promotion of Scott and Wallace does not signal any great change of direction, as both are Fox News veterans who joined the company in 1996.